


am i hallucinating? (why do you look hella famous?)

by gnarleyquinn, prettylittlesestras



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, First Date, Fluff, beca is a gay mess, chloe is an international popstar, tinder au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 14:32:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16327805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gnarleyquinn/pseuds/gnarleyquinn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettylittlesestras/pseuds/prettylittlesestras
Summary: “Tinder?” Emily says with a pop of her eyebrows, “I thought you didn’t like dating apps?”“Yeah,” Stacie chimes in, “You told me the other day that you’d rather marryBumperthan find someone online.”Emily grimaces.“You said that?”orthe tinder au that nobody asked for





	am i hallucinating? (why do you look hella famous?)

**Author's Note:**

> not much to say other than enjoy and a big thanks to my bff @prettylittlesestras for co-writing this gay mess with me!

“Holy _shit_.” Beca nearly chokes on her freshly poured (and very _hot_ ) cup of coffee as she scrolls through her phone. The sudden outburst is enough to make both Stacie and Emily immediately turn their attention across the kitchen table, Beca usually opting to stay silent during their early morning chatter.

“Is everything okay?” Emily says as Stacie goes, “Please tell me Betty White is alright.”

“What–Betty White is fine,” Beca stammers with a shake of her head, “I just got the weirdest superlike on tinder.”

Weird wouldn’t necessarily be the _right_ word to describe it, Beca thinks, but she’s honestly too shocked to call it anything else.

“Tinder?” Emily says with a pop of her eyebrows, “I thought you didn’t like dating apps?”

“Yeah,” Stacie chimes in, “You told me the other day that you’d rather marry _Bumper_ than find someone online.”

Emily grimaces.

“You said that?”

“Okay first of all, that was an exaggeration,” Beca says, pointing a finger at Stacie, “Second, I’m just window shopping! It’s really entertaining for when I’m suffering through a three hour music theory lecture.”

“Sure, Beca.” Stacie winks as she gets up to pour more coffee into her own mug and Beca rolls her eyes.

“It’s not like I’m swiping right on anybody.”

“But you want to.” Stacie argues.

“Do not!”

“Then why else would you even-”

Amy suddenly bursts into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee machine.

“What are you bitches fighting about?”

“Beca got a tinder match.” Emily is almost giddy in her seat, and Beca just wants everyone to let it go.

“It’s not even a real match!”

“What is it, _fake_?” Stacie snorts and pulls her mug out from underneath the coffee machine as Amy makes her own mug. Beca groans, expressing her disdain for her friends getting a little too involved in her love life so early in the morning.

“They superliked me! It’s not like the interaction will go any further than that.” Everyone in the room is silent, no one believing a word coming out of Beca’s mouth. As a last ditch effort, she grumbles, “It’s probably a catfish anyway.”

“Be careful, Beca. Catfish will do anything to get a picture of your feet,” Amy says, “Trust me, I know.”

The three girls stare at Amy simultaneously as she walks out of the kitchen without saying another word, her comments all but forgotten until Stacie erases thoughts of Amy sending feet pictures on tinder from their minds by returning the topic of the conversation to Beca.

“Who are they pretending to be?”

Beca debates whether telling Stacie is worth the trouble she can feel in her future, but she decides to take the plunge anyway.

“Chloe Beale.”

Beca groans as Stacie’s eyes widen, the taller brunette swiftly walking to hover over Beca’s shoulder.

“Show me.” She says, leaning over Beca, her left arm giving her support, her coffee is long forgotten on the counter.

“Wait for me!” Emily scurries over, peering down behind Beca on the other side and both girls wait as Beca pulls up the tinder app, Chloe Beale’s untouched profile appearing after the loading flame icon. 

Her profile picture isn’t some jaw-dropping, overdone selfie, and Beca can tell that she tried to go for something a little more playful and relatable for the first glimpse, giving Beca an inkling that the account could very well be real. Not that she would admit to it.

“Oh my god, do you see her bio? Debuted at number three on the billboard hot 100–looking for the perfect song to get myself on top.” Stacie hums in approval and Beca swears she gags a little bit, “If you don’t fuck her, I will.”

“Okay—No, no one’s fucking anyone! There’s no way this account is real.” Beca says as she clicks through the remaining photos.

“This account is _so_ real Beca.”

Beca and Stacie immediately turn to face Emily, the younger girl holding up her own phone screen to face the two.

“How do you know?” Beca asks.

“First of all, those photos exist _nowhere_ except this account. She posts, like, every day, and I’ve never seen them before.” She says, gesturing to the singer’s open Instagram page.

“Okay, stalker. Just because you don’t know where they came from doesn’t mean other people don’t.”

“She just has a nice instagram feed!”

“It’s okay, Emily,” Stacie starts, “We all know you just want to see when she posts a picture with Aubrey Posen.”

“That’s not true!”

“Em, we’ve all seen your post notifications for Aubrey. Just admit it, you’re obsessed.” Emily crosses her arms defensively.

“Why are you guys ganging up on me? I thought this was about Beca!” Emily gestures to the brunette in the chair as she looks pointedly at Stacie, who just smiles sweetly at both of them.

“My coffee tastes better when I get to tease both of my best friends equally.” She shrugs. Beca smirks at Emily to emphasize Stacie’s point, and Emily huffs in defeat.

“I—Whatever.” Emily slinks into the chair closest to her and Stacie rolls her eyes playfully, her attention returning to Beca. She immediately shuts down the smirk on Beca’s face as she remembers tinder fiasco at hand.

“You’re not off the hook DJ _flame_.” Stacie turns to Emily, “What was your next point?”

“As I was _saying_ , Chloe Beale is doing a press junket tour right now to talk about her album and she’s supposedly recording stuff in Atlanta for the next few days. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“Sounds real to me.” Stacie pulls away, grabbing her untouched mug and leans back against the counter.

“She has plenty of crazed fans who are more than capable of making a fake tinder account to do...whatever a crazy fan would do with a fake tinder account.” Beca argues. “Plus, why would a celebrity even be on tinder. That sounds like the last thing someone famous should—”

“Oh my god.” Stacie rolls her eyes and quickly grabs Beca’s unlocked phone from her hand, promptly swiping right on the alleged fake account before Beca can even make it out of her seat. “There you go. At least if it’s a 15 year old girl, she won’t have a van to kidnap you in.”

“Stacie!” Beca hisses as she snatches her phone out of Stacie’s hands, “Quick, help me. How do I undo it?” Beca swipes frantically through the app, not yet used to the way it works. Stacie and Emily make eye contact, both trying to stifle their laughter as they watch their best friend struggle.

“C’mon Beca, just leave it. Have a little fun for-”

“Shit!”

“What?”

“She messaged me already! Who the fuck is on tinder this early in the morning?”

Stacie pauses and her face twists in a way that screams, _Seriously, Beca?_

“No, no, no,” Beca wags her finger at Stacie, “ _I_ was doing some leisurely swiping. _You’re_ the one who swiped right.”

“Come on, it was all in good fun. Don’t you want to know if she’s real?”

“I literally could’ve gone the rest of my life being perfectly content not knowing if she was real.”

At that, Stacie rolls her eyes and steals Beca’s mug, pouring half of what was left in her own into Beca’s, and sets it back down on the table with a _clunk_.

“Sounds like you need a little more of a wake-me-up.”

“You have one more strike this morning. One more.” Beca glares at Stacie who’s struggling to keep a smile from breaking out on her face when Emily intervenes, less out of concern for their wellbeing and more out of curiosity, if she’s being honest.

“Well, what did she say?” Emily looks expectantly at Beca who sighs and glances down at her phone.

“Three time collegiate acapella champion, I take it you sing?” The words come out as though they pain her to read aloud, and she runs a hand through her hair as she whispers, “This is the worst day of my life.”

“Is that your bio?” Stacie asks. Before Beca can answer she speaks again, “Wait a minute, we haven’t even _seen_ your profile. I need to know what you’re working with here.”

“I guess I have nothing to lose at this point.” Beca hands over her phone to Stacie who pulls open Beca’s own profile. Beca watches nervously as Stacie squints at the screen, nodding in approval as she passes the phone to Emily.

“Not bad,” Stacie chimes, “Who knew Beca Mitchell had so much game.”

“Beca Mitchell has no game. Jesse basically forced me to let him make this when we were at the library the other day. Which is why-” Beca grabs her phone from Emily, “Swiping right on _anyone_ was a bad idea.”

“At least have a conversation with her,” Stacie pouts, “ _Please?_ For science?”

Beca squints her eyes for a few moments and the girls lock into a staring contest--one that Beca eventually loses.

“ _Fine._ ” She turns to her phone and types out a quick response, hoping whoever is on the other end won’t feel too inclined to keep the conversation going.

 

 **Beca:** No, I usually just blow the pitch pipe and run off stage.

 

Beca doesn’t even realize that Stacie and Emily have crowded around her until Emily is hissing into her ear.

“Don’t sound so serious! What if it’s actually her?”

_Ugh._

 

 **Beca:** I’m kidding, that was stupid.

 **Beca:** Yes, I sing.

 

“Better?” Beca looks up at Emily who makes a face, but nods her head in an “It’s _okay_ ,” motion.

“Look, she’s typing.” Stacie brings their attention back to the screen.

 

 **Chloe:** Me too! I noticed your anthem is Titanium. That song is a jam.

 

Beca immediately responds.

 

 **Beca:** You know it?

 

“Beca, when will you stop pretending like you’re the only person who listens to music?”

“David Guetta is _not_ that popular.” Beca defends herself.

“Titanium was literally on the radio for like 40 weeks straight. I’m pretty sure it’s _still_ going strong.”

“It’s true, I heard it in the car yesterday.”

“Thank you, Emily.”

Beca just scoffs.

 

 **Chloe:** I’m pretty sure anyone with working ears and a radio knows it, Beca.

 

“I like her already.” Stacie smirks, but Beca is too distracted by her next message to notice.

 

 **Chloe:** It would be a shame if anyone didn’t, though. That song really builds.

 

“Is she…?” Emily’s voice trails off, and Beca is really ready to just fall into a gaping black hole, at this point in time.

 

 **Beca:** Right. Yeah. It’s a lot of fun at the club.

 

“Good call.”

 

 **Chloe:** Sure. The club.

 

“Oh my _god_.” Stacie’s jaw drops at the same time as Beca goes, “That’s it.”

“I think this is enough _science_ for one day.”

Stacie checks the watch on her wrist and sighs, disappointment evident in her voice.

“If I wasn’t a TA you bet your ass I’d be skipping class to see this through.”

“Stace, are you still giving me a ride?” Emily asks as Stacie grabs her purse from the counter.

“Yeah, are you ready to go?” Emily nods quickly.

“I just need to run up and get my backpack. I’ll meet you in the car.” Emily runs off to her bedroom. Stacie says bye to Beca and heads for the front door, shouting just as she reaches it, “Keep me updated on the popstar sex!”

She slams the door before Beca can respond, and Emily follows suit, yelling a quick, “See you later, Beca!” as she heads out the door.

Beca sighs, thankful for the peace and quiet she was robbed of this morning, and peers back down at her phone.

 

**Chloe sent you a new message**

 

She hesitates at first, but curiosity gets the better of her and Beca unlocks her phone.

 

 **Chloe:** Do you go to a lot of clubs?

 

She takes a little bit on her answer, but decides go out on a limb. _No harm if it’s actually someone from the music industry._

 

 **Beca:** Not so much for pleasure as I do for work, but occasionally, yeah.

 

 **Chloe:** What do you mean by work?

 

 **Beca:** I dj sometimes. Just at some local venues, so I usually don’t go out unless it’s for that.

 **Beca:** Not that I don’t like to go out. Life is pretty hectic sometimes.

 

 **Chloe:** Don’t I know that.

 **Chloe:** So you produce? Or..

 

 **Beca:** Well my sets are mostly just club mixes and some mashups. Mashups are kind of my thing. I produced a song with one of my best friends, I can send it to you if you want.

 **Beca:** It’s not super amazing or anything, but, yeah.

 

 **Chloe:** I would love to hear it!

 

 **Beca:** [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XxzXR1ArbY ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XxzXR1ArbY)

**Beca:** Conveniently, it’s on youtube.

 

Beca holds her breath as the time passes, a little longer than the length of the actual song. About fifteen minutes pass when she realizes that Chloe either listened to the song and hated it, or wasn’t going to listen at all.

_It’s cool, Mitchell. Not everyone is going to like your shit. And what does the opinion of some fifteen year old fan girl catfishing people on dating apps really matter any-_

 

**Chloe sent you a new message**

 

_Oh._

Beca finds her face heating up even though she’s the only one in the room, and she curses herself as she feels the nerves in her hands as she unlocks her phone.

 

 **Chloe:** OMG!

 **Chloe:** That’s amazing!

 **Chloe:** You’re still in college right? How did you even have time to produce a song like this?

 

Beca lets out a breath she had no idea she was holding.

 

 **Beca:** Thank you. I’m an intern at a label and I managed to get on my boss’ good side. My friend wrote the song and then we took about a week staying late at the studio to get it done.

 **Beca:** Obviously there are a lot of improvements to be made, but for the first one I’m pretty proud of it.

 

 **Chloe:** You should be.

 

Beca smiles to herself before she even realizes what she’s doing, and she immediately shakes her head, wiping the small grin off her face.

 _She isn’t real. You will_ not _get roped in. No matter how pretty she is._

 

**…**

 

She got roped in.

It’s not like she _wanted_ to. On the contrary, she would’ve been much happier if the conversation had never taken place in the first place. If it hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been late to Music Technology 400, which means her seat in the back wouldn’t have been taken long before she got there. If her seat hadn’t been taken, she wouldn’t have had to sit in the front, where instead of relaxing with a mix and a pair of headphones, her risk of eye contact and cold calls with and by the professor increased tenfold.

_What is this, law school?_

If she hadn’t been running late to class, she would have had time to properly end the conversation with Chloe right before, and she would’ve never had to initiate conversation with the girl again. But instead, she left Chloe hanging for two and a half hours (which really, by Beca Standards isn’t _that_ long) and sent her reply after class. Then Chloe didn’t answer for four more hours after that, which, if Emily was right and this _is_ the real Chloe Beale, is understandable. If their conversation hadn’t been so spaced throughout the day, it wouldn’t have prompted Chloe to apologize for the pacing of the conversation– _are people usually this nice on tinder?_ –and insist that she take Beca out for lunch while she’s in Atlanta for the next couple of weeks. If that conversation had happened in the morning, Stacie and Emily wouldn’t have been around, but since the exchange took place a whole seven hours later, she couldn’t hide the burning sensation that took over her cheeks when she read Chloe’s message.

(She’s like, 85% sure that this is the real life Chloe Beale, because no fifteen year old has _that_ much game. Beca’s pretty much an actual adult now and _she_ doesn’t have that much game.)

If Stacie and Emily hadn’t been around to catch Beca when she read the proposal, they wouldn’t have forced her phone out of her hands to read it, and they wouldn’t have forced her to say yes, and she wouldn’t be sitting in a dainty cafe two miles off of the Barden campus, waiting to have lunch with international pop-star Chloe Beale as her two best friends sit sneakily in the corner just off to the side. 

She sighs as she listens to Stacie whisper something, unintelligible from Beca’s seat, but both Emily and Stacie dissolve into a fit of giggles, which Beca can hear loud and clear. She checks her phone for the millionth time, still fifteen minutes until she and Chloe are supposed to meet, and no new notifications from the redhead. They had exchanged phone numbers a few days before so their texting threads weren’t solely reliant on tinder notifications.

Not that tinder is _bad_ , but really, who wants other people seeing _that_ pop up on their screen?

The minutes slowly dwindle down, and her head shoots toward the direction of the door as it’s chime rings out, a flash of red waltzing through the opening. The girl looks around for a moment before spotting Beca and waves as she heads in her direction. Beca watches as she pushes her sunglasses into her hair and _Really? Does she have to be this pretty in person?_

Beca thinks that time is moving eternally slow as Chloe makes her way to the table, her nerves growing with every step Chloe takes. Beca stands, letting out a quick smile and a breathy, “Hey,” when Chloe reaches her, to which the redhead pulls her into a quick–yet bone-crushing hug.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you!” Chloe sounds excited as she pulls away and sits down in the chair opposite Beca’s.

“Likewise,” Beca offers a small smile, “Texting can get pretty old fast.” Her eyes widen when she realizes that could be taken the wrong way and immediately backtracks, much to Chloe’s amusement.

“N-not that you’re boring or anything! I’m just really not much of a texter at times, so it’s nice to get a break.”

Beca thinks she’s completely done for when Chloe giggles–Yes, _giggles_ –but then Chloe’s peering through the world’s longest eyelashes, and she says, “You’re cute when you’re nervous.”

Beca’s face burns up and she silently thanks whichever gods control the universe as their waiter comes to take their order. If they recognize Chloe, they don’t say anything, and Beca wonders if she’s a regular when she orders without having looked at the menu once. Beca manages to stumble through an order of whatever sandwich her finger landed on on the menu and she ducks her head just long enough to miss Chloe’s brief chuckle at her flustered stature.

“So,” Beca clears her throat, “You seem to know your way around Atlanta pretty well.”

“Well I did live here for like four years so I sure hope I retained _some_ knowledge about the city.”

“You lived here?” Beca is surprised, “I had no idea.”

“I actually did a semester at Barden before I got an offer from my label. I figured college would always be there after, you know?”

Beca let out a pained laugh.

“That’s what I tried telling my dad for years. After high school I wanted to move straight to LA and start paying my dues as an artist and work my way up to becoming a music producer. My dad wouldn't let it go, though; apparently a ‘free college education’ is too good to pass up.” Beca looks up at Chloe who's staring at her intently.

“Sorry, I'm rambling. It's stupid anyway,” Beca says as she looks back down at her hands, her cheeks flushing without her permission.

“No, it’s not stupid. Tell me more. What finally convinced you to stay?” Chloe looks genuinely interested, so Beca decides to continue.

“Well, in a last-ditch effort to find something to occupy me for at least one year, I went to the activities fair on the first day and got coerced into joining a singing group of weirdos. Well, actually I guess I _became_ one of those singing weirdos. I thought it was stupid at first, but being in the Bellas really put me in touch with my music, and we're all kind of like one big family, so I know it was the right decision to stay. But I'll never tell my dad he was right,” Beca says as she lets out a laugh.

Chloe laughs too, and Beca can feel a small amount of stress and anxiety leave her body as they sit in a comfortable silence while the server sets their plates in front of them. Chloe pours the dressing onto her salad as Beca takes a bite of her club sandwich (which was apparently what she ordered in her state of sheer panic earlier. _Not a bad choice._ )

Beca reaches for the salt shaker without looking, her motion freezing as she feels the warmth of Chloe's hand beneath her own.

Beca pulls her hand away quickly, every bit of awkwardness and anxiety returning and multiplying inside her.

“Oh—uh sorry. I, um, so what do you like to do? You know, when you aren't out being ‘ _international pop-star Chloe Beale_ ’ and all?” Beca asks, returning her attention to her sandwich.

“Well,” Chloe pauses, causing Beca to look up, only continuing after Beca locks eyes with her, “people knowing you everywhere you go gets old pretty fast. My down time tends to consist of me throwing on a hat and a pair of sunglasses and sifting through boxes of old records in record shops and thrift stores in whatever city I’m in at the time.”

“Oh, cool,” Beca says with a nod of her head, “that actually sounds really fun. I love finding old records.”

“Yeah, there’s something about searching through box after box and finally finding one you’ve been looking for for forever. It’s like a treasure hunt or something, and after days of searching you finally find the treasure chest,” Chloe says excitedly with a far-off look in her eyes as if she’s remembering herself finding her favorite record, a private viewing of the memory in her mind’s eye. Beca lets a small smile creep across her face as she listens to Chloe tell her about her favorite things. Chloe tells Beca all about her favorite things to do, and Beca shares her own, making mixes coming in near the top of the list.

Beca thinks the conversation is coming to a close when Chloe surprises her by saying something more, “There are plenty of other things I like to do...but I’ll have to show you. I am here for another week, you know,” Chloe says with a smirk on her face and an eyebrow cocked playfully. “Oh, and maybe next time we can invite your friends to come with us so that they don’t have to strain themselves trying to hear us from across the room,” Chloe says with a laugh as she waves at Stacie and Emily, still sitting in their booth across the cafe.

Beca sits with her mouthing gaping open, stunned and confused. Chloe’s invitation to hang out again was so forward and flirty and yet somehow still so ambiguous that Beca doesn’t even know if she meant it as anything more than a friendly shopping invitation. These thoughts, though, are overshadowed by the fact that Chloe knew the entire time that Stacie and Emily were there watching them.

“Wait—how did you know they were my friends?” Beca asks, quite curious as to how Chloe could’ve figured it out.

“Becs, you don’t really think I asked you on a date without at least giving your instagram a once-over, do you?” Chloe asks with a sly smile.

Beca can feel a blush trying to spread across her cheeks, and she tries to force it away, unaware of how one girl could make her more flustered than she’s ever been before. Maybe it’s because she now knows that Chloe’s looked at her Instagram, or maybe it’s because of the nickname, but it’s probably the latter.

She just shakes her head and smiles “I mean, yeah, I should’ve known.”

“So back to the matter at hand, will you let me take you out before I leave town?”

“Okay. I think something like that could be arranged,” Beca says with a smirk as she stands up from the table. _Hey maybe I do have game_ , Beca thinks. She takes a step away from the table, tripping over the leg of her chair and stumbling into the middle of the restaurant. _Okay scratch that. No game. Literally zero percent game_.

“Are you sure you want to do this again? As you can see I’m kind of a mess,” Beca jokes embarrassedly.

“Yeah, I think I can handle it,” Chloe says with a flirty smiles as she stands and takes a step closer to Beca. “Thanks for coming to lunch. Really, it’s been great.”

Chloe reaches out and brings Beca in for another hug. “I’ll text you, and maybe we can get together before I leave next week,” Chloe says as she takes a few steps backwards toward the door. She gives Beca one final wink, pulls her sunglasses back down over her eyes, and turns to retreat out the door of the cafe.

Beca stills, frozen where she stands and staring at the door, totally taken aback by the last hour and a half of her life. She doesn’t know if Chloe will actually text her or if the second date will ever even happen (she is _Chloe Freaking Beale_ after all), but she knows it was worth it.

Stacie and Emily all but run toward Beca but begin to approach slowly when they see the distant look in her eyes.

“Is she okay? Is this like when you see someone sleepwalking and you’re not allowed to wake them up? What are we supposed to do?” Beca hears Emily ask in a loud whisper.

Beca snaps out of her daze and rolls her eyes at Emily. “Don’t be dramatic, Em, I’m fine.”

“Well good because we’re going to need all the details on the way home. Reading your lips is harder than you’d think. You might want to work on your mumbling before the next date,” Stacie says as they walk toward the door.

Beca rolls her eyes again and laughs, letting out a quiet “whatever”.

Stacie bumps Beca’s shoulder with her elbow. “So are you going to admit it now or later that I was right? I believe thanks are in order for this entire afternoon,” Stacie says with a smug smile on her face. 

“Okay, maybe, _just this once_ , I’ll let you be right about something. But you better write this down because this is the only time, and I’ll never speak of it again,” Beca says with a smug look of her own.

Just before they reach Stacie’s car, Emily asks, “So, there will be a second date, right?”

Beca looks over at her as she climbs into the passenger seat, “Yeah, something like that,” Beca says, trying to play it cool and deny the smile from her face, but she can’t anymore, and she lets a full-fledged grin reach from one cheek to the other.

Beca stares out the window all the way back to the Bella house, not saying a word and playing back the events of the day in her head over and over again. She’s happy about how the day turned out, and all she can think is that maybe tinder is good for something after all.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! you can find me @ briittanysnow on tumblr and my good friend becca @ prettylittlesestras on tumblr! our inboxes are always open for any and all things pitch perfect!


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